What general film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975-UK-USA) *
Staggeringly awful... I watched this out of sheer curiosity and it was worse than I expected.
The original cult movie, but I wouldn't want to meet any of its fans on a dark night!

I never understood the love for this. I always felt it was more of an event, a happening that made this popular as opposed to being anything resembling a good film. I saw this once and I do not want to see this again.

[RetroRobot]

Never made it all the way through Rocky Horror.... just thought it was shit.

But Return of the Living Dead is an 80's horror comedy classic.... and I don't even like zombie movies.

[Markgway]

But Return of the Living Dead is an 80's horror comedy classic.... and I don't even like zombie movies.

But it stops being funny less than half way thru; there are no laughs in the second half.

And the apocalyptic ending is a real WTF job.

[RetroRobot]

So, since i've been bedridden with the chest cold from hell for the last week, I watched a bunch of stuff. Not really any new watches, but just stuff I popped in based on mood... and in some cases, fever delerium.


The Golden Child- 1986

Best Defense aside, this was Eddie Murphy's first real misfire, if you ask me. Not a full-on stinker, but what in the fuck were they actually aiming for here? The Asian mysticism adventure in a contempo setting was done to perfection by Carpenter that same year with Big Trouble in Little China, but everything that film got right, this one seems to get wrong. Murphy doesn't have a whole lot of funny lines here, the action is limp, the premise had potential but is badly handled, and the inclusion of surreal dream sequences and stuff like the dancing stop motion Coke can was just weird and unnecessary. Some of the 80's fx are pretty cool, Charles Dance is suitably menacing, and despite the weak dialogue, Murphy doesn't seem off his game as such. But it's just not enough. With some restraint and some tweaking and tightening here and there, im sure this could have been fun ride.


Soul Man- 1986

Why some people find this movie offensive is beyond me. Sure it C. Thomas Howell in blackface for most of the running time, and what the character does is perhaps not kosher, but you should never mistake content for intent. Howell's character is a pampered rich boy who cheats his way into college by posing as a black guy, but he actually learns from this experience and the race issues the movie tackles are done in a funny and/or tactful way. To me, one of the more underrated teen flicks of the 80's.


Gleaming the Cube- 1989

It feels very much like the whole skateboarding angle was shoehorned in, as it was the thing at the time, and never really gels that well with the actual plot. Christian Slater, a slacker skater, decides to investigate his adopted Vietnamese brother's apparent suicide, and uncovers a plot involving murder, gun running and corruption. A bit of an uneven affair, to be sure... but an entertaining one. Lots of sunny So-Cal vibe, some decent action scenes, some cool moves on the boards and a young, gangly Tony Hawk as one of Slater's skater buds. A fine time waster.


Only the Strong- 1993

Cheesy and after school special-esque Capoeira actioner starring the star that never was, Mark Dacascos. The whole 'inspirational figure reaching tough urban kids by way of unconventional means' premise has been done to death. But at least we get some decent martial arts and action scenes to spice things up here. The rest is tired material, that has its cheesy 90's charm if you cut it some slack, but not much more than that. Dacascos had the looks, skills and charisma to become a major star, but sadly for him, the MA action genre was on its last legs by the time he came around, and im sure Hollywood execs deemed him to ethnic looking to be a big box office lead. That's a shame, cuz he was a real talent always in search of the right vehicle, it seems. This was not it.


Saw a bunch of other flicks, but my typing finger is tired now......

[RetroRobot]

But Return of the Living Dead is an 80's horror comedy classic.... and I don't even like zombie movies.

But it stops being funny less than half way thru; there are no laughs in the second half.

And the apocalyptic ending is a real WTF job.

True, I guess... but I don't feel they forgot the comedy as much as just amping up the action and spooky stuff to acheive a big finish. It's not perfect, and not a movie I watch often. But I probably like it a bit more than you.

[Shingster]

Bought the UK disc last year, haven't watched the film yet. It has the IT audio, too ; I heard the (kid's) English dubbing is unbearable...

Woah! You seriously need to rectify that situation Hung, it's one of the best gialli of the 70s & has perhaps one of the most affecting death scene in cinema history (as retro has explained). Can't say I never really paid much attention to the dubbing of the kids, it's pretty much dubbed like every other giallo of the era. House By The Cemetery tends to get singled out more for its dodgy child dubbing from Fulci's filmography.

[Markgway]

Re. Duckling:

I made this comment a couple of years ago...

"Gave up on this boring murder mystery...."

Perhaps I'll need to try it again sometime?

[Markgway]

Trancers (1984-USA) **½
No classic, but this futuristic neo-noir thriller isn't bad on a budget.
Appealing leads (Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt) make the difference.

[RetroRobot]

Trancers is a fun flick. Some films own their B level quality, some don't.... this one does.

[Markgway]

Volunteers (1985-USA) **
Thin comedy about an arrogant playboy (Tom Hanks) forced to runaway to Thailand with the Peace Corps. Not unwatchable, but too few laughs.

Behind Enemy Lines (1986-USA) *½
C-grade Cannon Vietnam-POW escape movie; this one stars David Carradine as the po-faced hero. Where's Chuck Norris when you need him?

[Shingster]

Perhaps I'll need to try it again sometime?

I can't see it ever being your thing tbh, so I wouldn't bother!

[Markgway]

Perhaps I'll need to try it again sometime?

I can't see it ever being your thing tbh, so I wouldn't bother!

Any particular reason(s)?

[Markgway]

Born American (1985-USA-Finland) *
Laughable, leaden trash about three dumb Americans who think it's a good idea to sneak across the border into Soviet Russia(!) where upon they encounter a really creepy village full of rapists, kill a bunch of soldiers who turn up out of the blue, then are imprisoned in a hellhole run by nasty, Pepsi-drinking commies with a fetish for nipple torture! A thoroughly inept debut from Renny Harlin; unintentionally comic and never believable for a second. Lots of explosions, though.

[HungFist]

Born American (1985-USA-Finland) *
Laughable, leaden trash about three dumb Americans who think it's a good idea to sneak across the border into Soviet Russia(!) where upon they encounter a really creepy village full of rapists, kill a bunch of soldiers who turn up out of the blue, then are imprisoned in a hellhole run by nasty, Pepsi-drinking commies with a fetish for nipple torture! A thoroughly inept debut from Renny Harlin; unintentionally comic and never believable for a second. Lots of explosions, though.

Harlin's second best (after Cliffhanger and before Die Hard 2, which is also awesome)!!!! 4/5

[Markgway]

Harlin's second best (after Cliffhanger and before Die Hard 2, which is also awesome)!!!! 4/5

[grim_tales]

The Punisher (1989): 3/5

Maybe I'm ashamed to say this, but I rather enjoyed it An old school 80's violent film which probably wouldnt be made in this way today (I felt it was better than the 2004 remake), of course it was cheesy with the fashions etc (Dolph Lundgren looks a bit like the Steve Martin 'dentist' character from Little Shop of Horrors)
The acting is very bad though (especially the kids and the yakuza gangsters)

[Shingster]

Any particular reason(s)?

It's very slow, highly theatrical at times and features some rather questionable content involving women & children (in terms of what they're exposed to on set). Maybe I'm remembering wrong but I don't think you've shown much interest in the giallo genre outside of the more stylish efforts from Argento, if that is the case then Duckling ain't the film to change that opinion (the films of Sergio Martino would have better chance).

[Markgway]

I'm sure you're right...

[Markgway]

Soapdish (1991-USA) ***
Funny farce, witty and well-cast, with Kevin Kline a standout.

Bullies (1986-Canada) ***
Obscure, yet effective revenge thriller, in which the new family in town is targeted by a family of inbred scum. Well above average of its kind, with believable situations and a mostly unknown cast doing a fine job. Manages its grisly violence and sexual violence without veering into exploitation territory.

[RetroRobot]

Could never find Bullies outside of vhs, what format did you watch?

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

“We belong dead!” – Bride of Frankenstein

The Walking Dead (1936: Michael Curtiz)

Continuing my Boris Karloff watches I finally found a copy of this film which is part of the Karloff and Lugosi Horror Classics which I had just purchased. This is easily a worthy watch for fans of early horror films. The shooting schedule was 18 days and the script was not finished when the filming began. This leaves a few plot angles dangling as well as an uneven pace throughout the short film. This hurried approach does do some damage to the quality of film; however, the result is still quite good. The German Expressionistic chiaroscuro is superlative as well as the use of the camera. Unfortunately it could have been a classic with a tighter script and more scenes.

Karloff shines as the wronged man John Ellman who after serving some time in jail for manslaughter is quickly assigned the patsy and even his lawyer Nolan (Ricardo Cortez: The Maltese Falcon) is part of the plot against him and he is sent to the electric chair for a murder he did not commit. A couple comes forth with freeing evidence too late to save him initially. But Dr. Beaumont (Edmund Gwenn most famous for Miracle on 34[sup]th[/sup] Street) has the ability to bring him back from death leaving Karloff with some Bride of Frankenstein hair, a noticeable limp and somewhat of a hunchback. Other than that he has a supernatural ability to know who was responsible for his death. Karloff being a benign soul only asks “why?” to his murderers, but the result to their astonishment is death. But how is it happening?

The 1930s is one of my favorite decades of horror and this film only furthers my opinion. Curtiz is a good to great director, he helped helm such classics as Casablanca and Mildred Pierce as well as the earlier horror film Mystery of the Wax Museum. Here we have a mixture of gangster, religious allegory and horror film that is recommended to anyone who is a fan of Karloff and/or earlier horror movies.

An informative and fawning commentary from Greg Mank is somewhat marred by the low volume of his voice which now and then switches to a much higher volume for the film making every transition jarring to the ears.

[RetroRobot]

I should most def check out more 30's horror. Gonna use your 10 faves list to check some off. Unless you were up for doing a quick rec list of the best of 30's horror gems

[Shingster]

I don't usually pimp out my own work, but a group of us over on The Digital Fix recorded a 10episode podcast on the history of horror last halloween covering the basics of the more famous periods in filmic horror. You'll find plenty of recommendations on 20s/30s horror in the first two eps of that (the eps are only around 25-30mins): Episode 01: Silent Movies, Episode 02:Universal. The rest of the eps are on our RSS page, just look for the eps labelled TDF Filmcast Horrorthon.

[RetroRobot]

Thanks, i'll check that out.... love me some podcasts.

[Shingster]

had to update the links, realised only the first episode is available on that first page (we had a portal page for the whole horrorthon but it's disappeared). Anyway, the eps don't got into great depth really given the length of them, but they're a good primer for each subject!